<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/business/business-news/article/punjab-national-bank-targets-rs-6000-crore-quarterly-profit-over-the-next-few-quarters-md-and-ceo-23655830" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB)</a> has asked its customers to remain vigilant amid rising AI-enabled cyberattacks, especially voice cloning, deepfakes, and phishing, according to news agency PTI.
While noting October is observed as National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the state-owned bank said fraudsters are increasingly using sophisticated methods to make their scams appear convincing.
"Many cyber frauds today exploit human behaviour, particularly trust, fear, urgency and everyday digital habits. Fraudsters may imitate the voice or appearance of your family members, friends, or trusted persons and create a false emergency to seek an urgent transfer of money," PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra said in his message to customers.
Chandra added that scammers also send fraudulent emails, SMS or messages that are highly personalised or closely resemble genuine bank communications, making them harder to detect. He added that such messages often create a sense of panic, prompting customers to act without verifying their authenticity.
<h2>What should customers do?</h2>
The scams are effective due to the sense of urgency created, 63SATS Cybertech Joint MD &amp; Joint CEO Srinivas L said, adding, "A cloned voice of a son saying he has been arrested. A video of a police officer threatening a digital arrest. A message saying the bank account will be blocked in an hour. The technology has changed, but the playbook has not. It makes people panic, which pressurises them to pay."
To counter this, customers need to have a family code word that only their family members are privy to as AI can emulate a voice but would not be able to know the safe word. This can help people to protect against scams.
He stressed on maintaining digital hygiene to protect from emerging cyber frauds.
"People should turn on two-factor authentication for email, banking and social media, and use a different password for each. They must set a daily limit on <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/business/business-news/article/upi-volume-transactions-grow-27-per-cent-to-145-billion-in-april-to-september-npci-23653151" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">UPI (Unified Payments Interface)</a> and card transactions so a single mistake cannot empty their accounts," he added.
<h2>Vigilance is the key</h2>
Chandra said awareness and vigilance remain the strongest partners in preventing cyber frauds.
"Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Your awareness combined with our security measures creates the strongest defence against cyber frauds," he added.
Amid the growing number of cybercrime incidents across the country, public and private sector banks in India are stepping up investments in IT infrastructure and cybersecurity, to address emerging threats posed by advanced artificial intelligence, potential risks from quantum computing, and strict regulatory mandates from the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/rbi-issues-new-guidelines-for-digital-payment-security-in-india-check-complete-details-here-23595755" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Reserve Bank of India (RBI)</a>.
(With inputs from PTI)

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